Introduction and Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

Introduction - Erich von Däniken warns that the theories and conjectures he puts forth in the book fly in the face of hundreds of years of traditional archaeology, and that it will take a brave reader willing to put aside his or her prejudices and preconceptions in order to appreciate the ideas contained in the book. Von Däniken's central and controversial assertion is that extraterrestrial astronauts visited humankind at its nascency, and that these astronauts were considered gods by primitive Man.

Chapter 1 - Von Däniken poses the question, "Are there intelligent beings in the cosmos?" He then proceeds to provide some evidence to answer this question in the positive. Given the vast number of stars and planets seen by modern telescopes, von Däniken asserts that even with a very conservative estimate, we can...